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Clarina I.H. Nichols

When Kansas Territory was opened for settlement in 1854, a number of towns sprang up along the Missouri and Kansas Rivers and each attracted migration and commerce. Some settlements were predominantly proslavery, including Leavenworth, Lecompton, and Atchison, and others were Free-Soil, such as Lawrence, Topeka, and Quindaro.

Like its home town, Quindaro, Kansas, the Chindowan newspaper draws its name from a Wyandotte Indian word, in this case meaning "leader." By this time the abolitionist town is established with some three dozen households, most of which are African American.

Civil War on the Western Border: The Missouri-Kansas Conflict,1855-1865

This project is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the
provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the Missouri State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State with additional support from the William T. Kemper Foundation - Commerce Bank, Trustee